Repairs to the NWT’s damaged Deh Cho Bridge are finally beginning and drivers are being warned to expect at least one overnight closure lasting for several hours.
In a Thursday news release, the territory’s Department of Infrastructure said the bridge will be fully closed – in both directions – from midnight until 3am at the start of Thursday, November 14.
There may be another full closure from midnight until 3am on Friday, November 15 “if further work is needed.”
The work being carried out will replace a broken cable that has reduced the bridge to one lane for more than a year.
“Emergency vehicles will be permitted to cross during the closure,” the department stated.
“The remaining construction work is expected to continue until January 2025 and the bridge will remain operational with a lane reduction. Once all work is complete, the bridge will reopen to two-way traffic.”
The bridge, which cost $200 million to build, spans the Mackenzie River just outside Fort Providence, providing a year-round highway link between Yellowknife and the south.
The fault that caused a cable to break in August 2023 was eventually traced to a “metal adjustment bar” connecting the cable to its anchor on the bridge. Repair work is estimated to be costing $7 million.
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